Lindsey Vonn, 40, is nominate for an ESPY for her remarkable comeback to ski racing. Photo: US Ski & Snowboard

PARK CITY, Utah — Six years after retiring from alpine ski racing—and following a partial knee replacement—Lindsey Vonn is back, and now she’s being recognized for it on one of sport’s biggest stages.

The Park City-based Olympic ski racing champion has earned a 2025 ESPY nomination for Best Comeback Athlete, following a headline-making return to the World Cup circuit this season.

It’s the latest in a long line of accolades for Vonn, who has four previous ESPY wins under her belt, including Best Female Athlete in 2010 and 2011 and Best Moment in 2019. But this latest nomination may be her most emotionally charged yet, reflecting a comeback few thought possible.

Beating the Odds at 40

Vonn, 40, made her official return to racing this past December at FIS events in Copper Mountain, a warmup for her first World Cup starts since 2018. After steady improvement, she delivered standout performances in St. Anton, Austria—finishing sixth in the downhill and narrowly missing the podium with a fourth in super-G.

Still, critics questioned whether she could truly compete with the sport’s best. That skepticism ended in March.

At the World Cup Finals in Sun Valley, Vonn roared back onto the international podium with a silver medal in super-G—her first since retiring in 2019, and one that made her the oldest woman ever to medal in a World Cup race.

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The moment felt like a full-circle triumph, after a season of doubters questioning her age, her health, and her ability.

“It has been a rough season of people saying I can’t, that I am too old, that I am not good enough anymore,” she said in a post race interview. “So I think I proved everyone wrong.”

The Road to Cortina

With her comeback season behind her, Vonn is now eyeing one final goal: the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.

“Cortina is one of my favorite places in the world; that Olympic downhill is what’s been driving me,” she said at season’s end.

Should she qualify, it would mark her fifth Olympic Games and a final chance to add to her storied legacy—which already includes three Olympic medals, four overall World Cup titles, and 82 World Cup victories.

The 2025 ESPY Awards will air live on Wednesday, July 16, on ABC and stream on ESPN+. Vonn will go head-to-head with comeback stories from across the sports world in her nominated category. Cast you vote here.